Retailer and Brands: Policies
Pod Foods requires all retailers to upload a resale certificate attached to a commercial address. Pod Foods does not ship to residences or online 3rd party resellers. Exceptions to this are offices and corporate campuses.
We are able to ship to the contiguous 48 states. We are unable to cater to HI or AK at this time.
All payments must be made via ACH or bank transfer. We do not accept checks and reserve the right to reject orders if payment is not satisfactory.
Please note Pod Foods reserves the right to approve or reject any application to purchase or sell on our platform, and to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
Pod Express is the consolidated delivery arm of our business. Retailers can order multiple products which are regularly delivered via LTL or FTL on a set delivery day. Pod Express retailers can order both Express and Direct marked products in our catalog. The requirements for Pod Express are as follows:
Retailers are required to place orders of $300+ MOV per drop of Pod Express delivered brands.
You must be able to receive during set delivery day(s)
If the $300 MOV is not maintained, Pod Foods reserves the right to convert your account to Pod Direct. This does not mean that you cannot use our services, but we will not be able to make consolidated deliveries via truck. You will receive notice of this change.
Pod Express orders that are below our MOV are held in a pending status for 21 days until they reach the MOV. If the orders do not meet MOV at this point they are deleted.
Upon meeting MOV, all pending orders for the store will be processed. The retailer may submit a claim to request a cancellation prior to the order being processed.
Pod Foods is not able to offer credit for product that was ordered by a retailer and received within normal receiving hours and in good, sellable condition with agreed upon shelf life. If there are any issues, please submit a claim here and it will be processed promptly.
Pod Foods reserves the right to place stores on the Do Not Ship List if:
The retailer does not reply to requests regarding outstanding balances
The retailer's outstanding balance is 60+ days
The retailer is found to be abusive of our platform and/or uses the platform for personal rather than commercial use
The retailer is found to engage with and request samples from our vendors with no intent to purchase
Pod Foods does not work with alcohol, smokeables, or THC.
Pod Foods requires a shelf life minimum of 90 days.
Please note Pod Foods reserves the right to approve or reject any application to purchase or sell on our platform, and to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
For the business address, please use:
Pod Foods Co.
823 Congress Ave, Ste 150
Austin, TX 74701
Per the Vendor Service Agreement: Vendor shall maintain Commercial General Liability Insurance (including Contractual Liability, Products/Completed Operations, and Personal Injury coverages) with minimum limits of liability of $1,000,000 for any one occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate in any one year. If Vendor is using Warehouse services, Vendor expressly acknowledges that Pod Foods shall not insure the Products, and bears sole responsibility for insuring Products. Vendor shall maintain all such insurance with reputable insurers that are licensed to do business in the states in which Vendor conducts business and that have a rating of at least "A" from the AM Best rating service. Vendor shall furnish Pod Foods with a current Certificate of Insurance verifying coverage and listing Pod Foods Co as an Additional Insured on an annual basis as long as Vendor uses the Services. Vendor shall maintain coverage in such amounts for at least one year after the termination of use of the Services.
If Vendor is submitting international insurance policy please ensure country coverage includes the United States.
Pod Express gives emerging brands access to retailers with consolidated tri-temp order fulfillment, transparent pricing, intelligent data, and fast support. The best path to access Pod Express is by following these steps:
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Verify if your brand and Pod Foods work with the same retailers. Pod Foods cannot service the retailers if we do not work with them. If we do work with them, and you are approved to be carried, please let us know and we will introduce you to a category manager for next steps.
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Onboard as a Pod Direct brand for immediate access to our retailer network and placement into our wholesale marketplace. This allows our category managers access to your brand when reviewing category performance and opportunities with Pod Express retail partners.
If your brand is accepted by a key account and added to their APL, our Category Management Team will work with you to properly scale and ship inventory to our respective warehouses.
Brands must commit to conducting regular promos for the Express account(s) ordering. This helps increase sales velocity, turns, etc. Brands can work with their Express Category Manager on promotional strategy.
Brands must maintain an average sell-thru of $50/SKU/Week in each activated Express warehouse, or the SKU will be subject to removal from the Express program.
Brands must inbound product to each activated warehouse via LTL, and we highly recommend for each brand to utilize Pod Freight for their LTL inbounds. Your Category Manager can speak with you about our Pod Freight program, and how it benefits your brand’s bottom line.
Please note Pod Foods is not a formal brokerage and we do not guarantee new placements. If you (the brand) have sent samples directly to the retailer and advise them that Pod Foods is a distributor, we will share sample feedback if/when we receive it.
We will gladly support your efforts to scale via the store list, promotions, and Pod Capital - simplified, fast funding for your growing business.
If the brand is carried in and/or formally accepted by any of the retailer accounts that are serviced via the Pod Express vertical:
Lot codes are a mandatory requirement for warehousing on our Pod Express vertical. Please ensure that your units/eaches and casepacks are properly labeled with lot codes per production run.
Initial fills need to be confirmed prior to initial inbounds to our warehouse(s). Typically, the retail buyer will advise our Account Managers which SKUs, and what quantities, they are interested in ordering for an initial fill. Oftentimes, they will order one or two casepacks of each desired SKU. Occasionally, there are mandatory new product placement promotion requirements to launch into a new retailer, which can be up to 100% off invoice, depending on the retailer.
When initial fill volumes are confirmed, please submit a request to our Pod Freight Partner so that you can receive a quote for your inbound inventory shipment to our warehouse(s). Pod Freight is strongly recommended, as the rates are highly-competitive and, more importantly, your inbounds are reliably tracked. This is integral for fill rate management.
All of our initial inventory requests will be emailed to you from our Inventory Team. Each inventory request will include projected volumes needed for initial stock, and also enough inventory to stock our warehouse with a minimum 45 day safety stock. You are able to input an inbound inventory MOQ (minimum order quantity), to allow for a 45, 90, or 120 day safety stock per inventory request. It is essential that fill rates of above 95% are maintained on all accounts, which means we must have adequate inventory available at our warehouse. Please connect with [email protected] to set up an inventory MOQ.
When the inventory request is made, you must confirm it within 7 days via your Vendor Dashboard. Please make this a habit for future requests, as it maintains flow of shipment and fill rate.
Once the request is confirmed, our Pod Freight Partner can simply pick up your inventory from your origin location, and deliver your product to our designated warehouse. From there, you can begin selling your product to the retailer, and Pod Foods will begin delivering it!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected]
Pod Direct orders require the Pod Foods Invoice packed in your shipment for payout.
You must deliver product that has at least 75% of its shelf life remaining
You will not be paid out for your order if:
The Pod Foods invoice is not included in your parcel.
You ship your order and do not enter the tracking number as the POD
You self-deliver and do not upload the signed packing slip as the POD
Pod Direct orders are marked fulfilled by our team following confirmed POD (Proof of Delivery) approximately 10 business days after delivery if the Vendor uses their own shipping label. If you utilize a Shippo label through our platform the confirmation will occur automatically.
You must select Confirm on your order notification email or dashboard to initiate the order process. You must confirm Pod Direct orders within 48 hours of the order date
Orders must be shipped within 5 business days of the order date
A shipped date must be entered within your dashboard
If a Pod Direct order is flagged for noncompliance with the above policies, a member of our team will reach out to determine cause. Noncompliance to fulfillment policies directly and negatively impacts the customer experience of Pod Retail Partners
If there are stock, production, or fulfillment issues, Pod Foods will work with your brand to depublish or mark OOS products until the issues are resolved. At that point the products will be republished
Two occurrences of noncompliance will result in written warnings
If there is a third occurrence of noncompliance, Pod Foods reserves the right to deactivate and delist vendors from the Pod Direct catalog
Vendors selling product in California (SoCal, NorCal, PDW) must provide Prop65 labeling. There are instances where companies with less than 10 employees are not required to provide this labeling in California. However, Pod Foods requires this labeling to indemnify all parties from any potential liability that may arise through the sale and purchase of the product.
If you are a Vendor with less than 10 employees and do not presently have Prop65 labeling on your packages, do not activate the SoCal, NorCal, or PDW regions. You may activate them once the labeling is on your packaging. Pod Foods reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account without notice and liability, if you are found to be in breach of this requirement.
Be prepared if a recall occurs.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Pod Foods strives to ensure only safe, high-quality products reach consumers. The following recall and withdrawal policies and procedures have been established to ensure prompt, organized, and thorough actions are taken in the event of a food recall.
Centralized, streamlined communication is required from the vendor in all recall situations.
RECALL NOTIFICATION CONTACT
Initial recall notification should be sent to the following:
Pod Foods Recall Main Contact | |
Pod Foods Claims Department |
Vendors retain the primary responsibility to initiate a voluntary recall and are considered the recalling firm in this instance.
Vendors are responsible for classifying the recall class and providing all relevant information about the affected product.
If the vendor is inaccessible or non-responsive in the event of a mandatory recall called by the FDA, Pod Foods reserves the right to enact recall procedures without vendor approval.
VENDOR COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS
Vendors must notify Pod Foods of a product recall(s) immediately. Vendors are to provide notice by emailing [email protected].
Vendors whose products are warehoused under Pod Foods are required to provide a written recall notice immediately following their initial email recall notification.
The following information must be provided in the written recall notice:
Product description
SKU(s)
Lot code(s)
Expiration date(s)
Date and quantities shipped to warehouse(s)
Recall classification (Class I, II, or III)
Does the reason for the recall pose a hazard to the public? Explain in detail.
If a health-related hazard is posed, address the following:
Number of hospitalizations, if any
Number of deaths, if any
Number of injuries not requiring hospitalization, if any
Pathogen(s) involved
Source of contamination
Media communication efforts
Regulatory agency communication efforts
Disclaimer: Pod Foods reserves the right to place all product believed to be affected on hold in all applicable regions while awaiting the vendor’s written notice containing further details.
The vendor must either (1) withdraw the affected product from applicable warehouses, or (2) authorize product disposal.
Once the product is removed from circulation, vendors are responsible for ensuring the recalled product is appropriately subject to testing, corrective actions, or destruction, depending on the nature of the problem.
Disclaimer: Pod Foods does not audit or assess inventory pertaining to potential food safety issues.
DISPOSAL AND WITHDRAWAL FEES & PROCEDURES
Recall Charges
Pod Foods passes through to the Vendor any recall penalties that retailers charge Pod Foods for a Vendor’s product recall as well as any costs incurred to execute the product recall at our DCs and retailers.
There is a $250 Admin Fee + $1/case charge per recall event per DC.
DEFINITIONS
Correction
The repair, modification, adjustment, relabeling, destruction, or inspection of a product without its physical removal to some other location.
Stock Recovery
Supplier’s removal or correction of a product that has not been marketed or left direct control of the supplier.
Market Withdrawal
Supplier removal or correction of a distributed product that involves a minor violation that is not subject to legal action by the FDA.
DC Withdrawal
Supplier removal or correction of product held at a distribution center (DC) that involves no violation or a minor violation that is not subject to legal action by the FDA.
Recall
A recall is a process of removing or correcting products in the marketplace that are in violation of FDA laws and regulations. A recall does not include a market withdrawal or a stock recovery.
Under a recall, the product presents a threat or potential threat to consumer health or safety, involves adulteration, or is materially misleading in its claims or nature.
